Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Open Source Widely Used No surprise for most CIOs, 76% of companies say they are using free and open source software.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

However, Problems Abound Despite the popularity of free and open source software, 75% of respondents say that it has caused an issue for their operation in the last 12 months. What's worse, those issues have affected mission-critical applications.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Enterprise Support NeededA lack of enterprise-grade support for free and open source software is the chief complaint of 27% of companies.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Usability and Maintenance Issues Another problem with free and open source software is usability, according to 24% of the respondents. Another 20% complained about a general lack of software support.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Enterprises Willing to SpendIn order to address those issues, 64% of IT and business executives said they would pay for better quality support and software in the open source environment.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Paying For Stability Since so many companies would pay to use open source software, some might wonder why. According to 25% of respondents, paying for the technology should increase stability.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Paying For Support And 22% of companies say enterprise-grade support is enough to get them to pay for open source software.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

The Enterprise’s FOSS Reliance Not surprisingly, engineering and research and development divisions are most heavily using open source software, accounting for 32% of all implementations.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Sales A Distant Second After engineering and research and development, the sales department is most likely to use free and open source software, with 8% of divisions across sales saying they use it.

Free and Open Source: Enterprise Support Is Needed

Dedicated FollowersLooking for companies that exclusively use free and open source software? They're few and far between: Just 10% of companies use only free and/or open source software.